From the Knox Kershaw Collection

1937 Packard 1507 Twelve Convertible Victoria

473ci Modified L-Head V-12 Engine
Single Carburetor
175bhp
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Independent Front Suspension with Live Rear Suspension
4-Wheel Vacuum-Assisted Hydraulic Drum Brakes


*From the Knox Kershaw Collection
*Meticulously restored by noted enthusiast and collector D.U. Howard
*Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Senior award-winner
*Set up for driving enjoyment with air-conditioning, power steering, and other features
*An A/C-equipped Packard Twelve...the ultimate Classic highway automobile!

THE 1937 PACKARD TWELVE

Packard introduced its Fifteenth Series of 1937 with striking modern striking, updated from the Fourteenth Series with an even more rakishly angled radiator, redesigned bumpers, and front and rear doors that both opened from the center. Most impressive were the Senior models' technical innovations that included the company's first use of independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes with centrifuse drums. King among these was the Twelve, which was offered on three lengths of chassis and in a remarkable thirteen different body styles. Few among them were more attractive than the five-passenger Convertible Victoria, on the 139-in.-wheelbase 1507 platform, which featured a top that folded flush with the body when lowered – echoing back to the Rollston and Waterhouse Convertible Victorias of just a few years prior.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

The 1507 Twelve Convertible Victoria offered here was reportedly delivered new by Motor Sales & Service of Portland, Maine, on August 12, 1937, per its reproduction vehicle number plate. According to Mr. Kershaw, it was later a longtime San Antonio, Texas, resident before its acquisition by the prominent local aerospace entrepreneur, D.U. "Dee" Howard. Mr. Howard was a highly skilled engineer, known for the meticulous nature of his restorations and for their ability to both win awards and to drive, in many cases, better than the original manufacturer intended. Accordingly, his shop returned this Packard to its original beauty, after which it achieved its Primary First Prize with 100 points at the CCCA Southwest Grand Classic in 1988, followed by a Senior First Prize with a second perfect score at the same event in 1991.

Afterward, Mr. Howard set the award-winner up for modern driving enjoyment, installing a 12-volt ignition system, using aircraft wiring; a pressurized radiator with auxiliary cooling fan; power steering; and even air conditioning!

Mr. Kershaw acquired the Packard from the Howard Collection on November 22, 2004, and has now maintained it in his own distinguished collection for over sixteen years. He has continued to enjoy using it as a favored 'driver,' and to that end has continued to upgrade its specifications, fitting a CD player and XM satellite radio receiver, as well as Bluetooth capability. In a recent road test it performed very strongly, and was noted by a Bonhams specialist to be "everything one would want in a Packard Twelve."

Yet despite many miles of enthusiastic road use, the car is still in very good overall condition, with its Regatta Blue paint still shining and the interior still very attractive, and would almost certainly be the hit of any local car show. It would also most certainly be favored by, shall we say, those family members who do not always appreciate 'an old car' – as it combines all the engineering and character that makes a Classic fun to drive, with literally all of the modern conveniences!